Today’s vegan MoFo theme is “original vegan”, meaning a vegan meal that isn’t trying to be something else (like fake cheese or fake meats). The easiest, most satisfying and cheap vegan meals for me have always been stir frys or slow cooked curries. In fact, for just about the last three weekends in a row I’ve been extremely crock-pot inspired and made a different curry each time.
Yesterday morning I swung by the Pearl City farmer’s market at Pearl Ridge mall. Pearl City is a on O’ahu, right on the northern tip of Pearl Harbor (hence the name) and about ten minutes northwest of Honolulu. Because we live in a tropical location, the fruit and vegetable selection is always unique. I picked up this crazy batch of jungle veggies, swung by the store for some pre-fried tofu from Aloha Tofu, and then returned home.
Making a curry is so freaking easy, I swear. When I came home I popped these chopped veggies into the crock pot—make sure to put the thickest on the bottom, in this case the kabocha. And layered chunks of Japanese curry blocks throughout. If you don’t have pre-made curry blocks or sauce, you can put in whatever spices float your boat! Last, I chopped the fried tofu and laid it gently on top. Add 2-3 cups of water too, to make it saucy! After turning the knob to a slow cook, I let that sucka soak for five hours. You can cook it on high setting much faster too, but I had the time to spare until dinner.
When you’re ready to eat, choose a base (rice, noodles, quinoa, etc) and spoon your curry out of the crock pot and into your bowl. We used quinoa because I like that extra protein for developing baby. Talk about a savory and healthy original vegan meal! I love our $10 crock pot. Hope you guys liked this easy idea. If you aren’t a chef at all, I promise you can do this recipe. It’s hard to mess up, good luck!